


Townie

by jwwksy



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Love, Friends to Enemies, Infidelity, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Needles, Piercings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jwwksy/pseuds/jwwksy
Summary: Drunken mistakes and unlikely dates.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Intersection

Has it been said that making drunken bets is a bad idea? Is it a known fact that most bad decisions are made under the influence? If so, Soonyoung is completely unaware. 

He knew that Seokmin could jump across the width of the swimming pool, shit, he’s seen him do it before‒but after some drinks and a few hits from the joint that was being passed around, he figured that it would slightly alter Seokmin’s ability to decipher what is and what isn’t concrete.

Or in other words, he was basically hoping that Seokmin would fall in the pool. 

But Soonyoung doubted Seokmin, as one should not do, and within seconds Seokmin was on the other side of the pool with his hands in the air. Soonyoung felt a slight pain in his chest knowing that tomorrow his nipples would be pierced and that they’d be a constant reminder that he should not doubt Seokmin in any way. 

And that’s how a hungover Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Seokmin ended up in the waiting room of the tattoo and piercing shop that was a few towns over. Jihoon and Seokmin were more than thankful that the shop did walk-in piercings; Soonyoung was anything but. 

“Dude, I think that’s your piercer” Jihoon nudged Soonyoung’s shoulder to grab his attention and he looked in the direction that Jihoon was looking in.  
Through the window of the room next to the check-in desk stood, As Soonyoung would say, ‘the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen and I know I say that about every single attractive person I see but I swear I mean it this time’. 

“Okay, I know you know what I’m going to say so I won’t even bother saying it. But I am thinking it.” 

“And he’s gonna be touching your nipples!” Seokmin felt the need to say. This earned a punch to the arm from Soonyoung and a chuckle from Jihoon. 

The piercer disappeared from the window and Soonyoung felt his palms get sweaty. His eyes flickered between the doorway of the piercing room and the clock on the wall that read ‘my appointment was supposed to start 7 minutes ago’ o’clock. 

“Soonyoung?” 

Soonyoung felt a bony hand grip his forearm and drag him off the couch. 

“Snap out of it, dipshit. Just get it done and over with if you’re really that nervous about it.” Jihoon let go of Soonyoung after he shook his head as if it would help him come back to his senses. 

Soonyoung and co. followed the voice that called him just moments ago and before he knew it, a door was closing behind him and the man that was in the window was patting the bench for him to take a seat. Soonyoung was staring at the back of his piercer’s head whilst the other boys took seats in the empty chairs across from the bench. Jihoon made eye contact with Soonyoung and flicked his eyes towards the piercer with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Cut the shit!” Soonyoung mouthed to Jihoon who instantly snorted in reply. Seokmin’s head immediately shot up from his phone and he looked between the two boys.

“What happened I wasn’t listening” Seokmin, yet again, felt the need to say.

“Nothing happened Soonyoung is just blushing like crazy. Look at him!” Jihoon managed to say followed by a small fit of giggles. The piercer turned around to see if what Jihoon said was true, and sure enough, it was. This caused Soonyoung to heat up even more than before and the piercer returned to cleaning the jewelry. 

“What’s got you so nervous? If it’s the piercing then I can assure you that it’s not as bad as everyone says, well, for me it wasn’t” the piercer turned around and leaned on the back of the counter.

“Unless it’s something else? Nervous because you don’t know the person who’s about to poke a hole in your body?” Jihoon and Seokmin laughed at that. Soonyoung laughed as well, but it was more of an airy exhale along with even more blood rising to his cheeks. 

“Oh it’s definitely that. But knowing him I’m sure there’s another reason why he’s like that. Isn't that right, Soonyoung?” Jihoon grinned at Soonyoung and the piercer watched his reaction.

“Well if it makes you feel any better, I’m Jun. I’m 23, and I’ve been doing piercings for a few years now.” He smiled down at Soonyoung. Soonyoung’s eyes traveled over the piercer, or, Jun, and noticed that he had a few ear piercings and a couple of small tattoos on his forearms. Nothing about him screams, ‘I stab people with needles for a living’. 

“Alright, now that we’re all buddy-buddy, I need you to take off your shirt so I can start the measurements.” Jun slid on some rubber gloves and made his way over to the now shirtless Soonyoung with an uncapped marker in his right hand.

“Okay, so I’m gonna just eyeball the measurements and when I’m done you can check it out in the mirror and let me know if you want them higher or lower or whatever.” Soonyoung nodded his head and before he knew it, Jun was drawing little dots on the sides of Soonyoung’s hard nipples. (Soonyoung would argue that the room was cold, but let’s be honest. His piercer was, ‘the most beautiful person he’s ever seen and he knows he says that about every single attractive person he sees but he swears he means it this time’).

Soonyoung stood up from the bench and glanced in the mirror. They looked pretty even from what he could tell. He met Jun’s eyes in the mirror and gave him a small nod and a smile as he sat back down on the bench.  
“So this is what’s gonna happen. You’re going to lie down, hands by your sides, and I’m going to use these clamps to hold your nipple in place then I’ll put the jewelry in. Does that sound good?” Jun looked back at Soonyoung as he placed the piercing and clamps onto a tray. Soonyoung nodded to the piercer and reclined himself onto the table. He looked to his friends in the corner who were too busy scrolling away on their phones. Shouldn’t they be documenting this? It’s not everyday where your friend loses a bet and has to get his nipples pierced by the new love of his life, is it? 

With Soonyoung’s new nipple jewelry in place, he made Jihoon pay the eighty dollars because, hey, it’s the least he could do after making him go through that.


	2. I Don't Smoke

After two weeks of Soonyoung soaking his nipples in salt water twice a day (Jun recommended three but said that two wouldn’t kill him) Seokmin, Jihoon, and Soonyoung were hanging out in Seokmin’s living room. Now, Soonyoung wouldn’t say that he’s a sucker for love. He wouldn’t say that he’d do anything for his lover, but boy does he want to see Jun again.  
And fast.  
And he came to the conclusion that the only way for him to do that is to, of course, get another piercing. 

“Hey can one of you bring me to get my ear pierced this week?” Soonyoung asked his two friends without his eyes leaving the television in front of him. Jihoon paused the game that they were playing and scooted up on the couch to give soonyoung an incredulous look. 

“Seriously? You just had your nipples pierced like, what‒two weeks ago? Plus if it’s just a lobe piercing then we could do it here instead of paying thirty or forty bucks.” 

“No, no. I want to get it done professionally, you know? It’s more sanitary… and shit.” Jihoon scoffed at that remark and unpaused the game—returning to the position that he was previously in.

“You didn’t give a fuck about sanitation when you ate that chicken wing off the floor at that bar last month.”  
Soonyoung tried to recall the event, but he couldn't (probably due to the fact that he had one too many drinks that night).

“Well, I’m a new man now! I think these nipple piercings have really changed me.”

Jihoon sighed from his side of the couch and spared sideways glance at Soonyoung who currently had his hands curled up under his chin in hopes of convincing Jihoon.

“Whatever, man. I’m not paying though.”

“Yes! Yes. Thank you.” Soonyoung jumped up off the couch and made his way outside to book his appointment—remembering to request Jun as his piercer. 

As Soon as they arrived to the piercing shop, Jihoon left. He told Soonyoung that he can find his own ride home since he had more important things to be doing than carting his ass around all afternoon. Soonyoung sat in the waiting room by himself this time and spotted the same head of black hair who he’d been longing to see for the last two weeks. Jun walked into the waiting room and smiled at Soonyoung while nodding his head in the direction of the piercing room. Soonyoung caught his eye and before he knew it, he was on his feet following Jun down the hall.

“So, no friends this time?” Jun asked Soonyoung as he gestured for him to sit up on the bench; Jun turned around to put the jewelry in the cleaner then leaned against the counter, facing Soonyoung.

“Yeah. This was kind of a last minute decision so my friend dropped me off and told me that I can find my own ride home. I’m just hoping that at least one of my friends decided to not be an asshole for once and is willing to pick me up.” Soonyoung blushed and laughed a little bit and Jun did the same while putting on a pair of rubber gloves.

“Well, if all of your friends decide to be assholes then I can definitely give you a ride home if you need one. You’re my last appointment today so it’s no big deal.” Soonyoung’s heart jumped at this. Sitting in the same car as Jun? Like, sitting next to Jun? In his car? Jun’s car? Next to Jun? In his car? Soonyoung is more than down for that. 

“Yeah! Well, I mean, of course I’m going to call them because I do live kind of out of the way but if none of them pick up then I’d really appreciate it.” 

“It’s really no problem. So back to the piercing‒Helix, right?”

Soonyoung sat in the lobby as Jun cleaned up the room and finished his paperwork. He told Jun that none of his friends picked up, when in reality he didn't even bother calling any of them. 

“Ready?” Jun walked up to him while putting on his jacket. 

“Yup. Thanks again for the ride. I tried calling them again but they were all busy or whatever.” Soonyoung trailed behind Jun in the parking lot until Jun pressed a button on the remote attached to his keys and the lights of an average looking car blinked in the corner of the lot.

“You don’t mind if I stop at McDonald’s before I drop you off, do you?” Jun said while buckling his seat belt. Soonyoung shook his head then let out a pathetic ‘nope’ once he figured that Jun probably didn’t see his first response. 

Their drive to McDonald’s was mostly filled with silence until Soonyoung was sick of hearing his heartbeat in his ears and reached forward to turn the radio on. 

“Yeah of course you can turn the radio on” Jun joked without taking his eyes off the road. Soonyoung’s face got hot and he turned his head to look out the window.

“Ah, sorry. I was just sick of sitting in silence.”

“No it’s fine. I was about to turn it on anyways,” Jun turned his head to give Soonyoung a small smile. “And yeah, I’m the same way. Sitting in silence is so awkward. You can find something you like.” Soonyoung reached forward and didn’t stop switching the stations until they got to the drive-through.

“Thanks again for the ride. Sorry I live so far away.” Jun smiled at him as Soonyoung sipped his practically toxic Sprite.

“I said it was fine! Besides, I live in this direction anyways so it’s not out of the way for me. Are you gonna bring those fries with you? If not I will gladly take them.” Jun pointed to the fries that Soonyoung left in his cup holder and he shook his head.

“Nope. They’re all yours. But, I was wondering if I could have, like, your non-work number? Just in case I ever have questions about my piercings that I could simply Google but I’d rather get a professional opinion on?” Soonyoung took another sip of his acid and Jun laughed as he reached out for Soonyoung’s phone.

“Sure, I love answering questions that can easily be Googled.” He handed Soonyoung’s phone back to him and he slipped it in his pocket. 

“Well, thanks again times two for the ride. Have a good night.” He said through the window as he backed away from Jun’s car. Jun threw him a quick smile and sped off. 

With his head in the clouds, he managed to make it through the front door and into the living room where Jihoon was currently playing one of his games. Soonyoung kicked his shoes off at the door and stood in front of the TV in hopes of dragging Jihoon's attention away from it.

“Who the hell dropped you off?” Jihoon grumbled while trying to see around Soonyoung's body barrier. Soonyoung smiled to himself and started walking towards his bedroom in a haze.

“He gave me his number!” He called back while waving his phone in the air nonchalantly. 

“Who did?” Jihoon yelled from the other room as Soonyoung made his way down the hall.

“I gotta go soak my nipples! G’night Jihoon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell this was written a while ago? It was when the toxic Sprite meme was at its peak...


	3. Small Town

Soonyoung woke up to find his sheets damp and something hard digging into his back. He reached down under his covers and pulled out a shot glass—he figures that he must’ve fallen asleep mid salt-soak last night. He sets the ‘I got lei’d in Hawaii’ shot glass onto his bedside table and that is when he notices the fiery pain emitting from his freshly-pierced ear. He knows that he should clean it. He knows that he should get his ass out of bed and take care of it.  
But instead, he texts the professional himself. 

\- my ear is swollen :(

\- Who is this

\- Someone with a swollen ear.  
\- It’s soonyoung 

\- Ohh hahaha n_n don’t forget to clean it!!

And with that information, Soonyoung turned off his phone and went back to sleep. 

It wasn’t until three when Soonyoung decided that he should probably get out of bed. He didn’t have work until 1 the next day so he figured what better way to spend his Saturday than annoying the living hell out of Jihoon and hoping that Jun would text him. 

Jihoon sat on the couch next to him with his container of noodles in his lap. Soonyoung had been texting Jun for the last 10 minutes while Jun was at one of his friend’s shows at an art gallery.

“How do you know when you’re flirting with someone, or, how do you know when someone is flirting with you?” Soonyoung asked Jihoon without lifting his gaze from his phone.

“What the fuck are you talking about.” Jihoon deadpans without tearing his eyes from the television. 

“What do you mean ‘what are you talking about’?” Soonyoung kind of expected Jihoon to answer that way, but he figured that he might as well ask anyways. “I said, how do you know?”

“Are you serious.” Jihoon stuck his chopsticks into his box of noodles and sat back to give Soonyoung a look that read, well, Are you serious?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m being serious!” Jihoon rolled his eyes when he realized this conversation wasn’t going anywhere and picked up his box of noodles once again. Soonyoung slouched into the couch and tossed his phone on the floor. 

“Jun and I have been texting all afternoon and I’m like, obviously interested in him but I don’t know how to show that without my hands getting clammy and my face getting all hot,” he sighed, “and Jun is not any better. He asks me how I am, what I like to do, you know, ‘get to know you’ type of questions.” 

Soonyoung felt his face starting to heat up at just the thought of Jun. He’s never really experienced a serious crush before. As far as liking someone goes, he’ll deem someone the ‘most attractive person I’ve ever seen’ then forget about them a few days later. 

But with Jun, it’s different. It is different in the sense that he cares to ask Soonyoung so many questions about his life, and it has gotten to the point where Soonyoung feels as though he is an open book but Jun is under lock and key. But it is nice, Soonyoung thinks, to have someone so infatuated with your life.

“Sounds like you caught the love bug.” Jihoon throws at Soonyoung—the sentence soaking with disinterest. 

Soonyoung dismisses the comment and continues, “slow your roll, pal. I’m not even sure if he likes me like that.”

Jihoon makes a confused face but doesn’t draw his attention away from the TV. “I feel like I am having a conversation about two different people with three different people.” 

Soonyoung rolls his eyes and continues to text Jun. Whether or not Jun wants this to actually go somewhere, Soonyoung is willing to take that chance. 

Scooping up tarantulas with a net and handling containers of live crickets wasn’t exactly part of the dream when he imagined his ‘dream job’, but petting the mice and lizards was. Ever since he was young, he dreamt of working at Petco. He decided to keep his dreams minimal and reasonable to reach, and he managed to achieve that one. Surprisingly, as much as he loves his job, he wishes he was doing other things with his life that were more stimulating.  
But, hey. He’ll take what he can get as long as he’s getting his bills paid. 

“Do you work here?” Soonyoung was approached by a middle-aged woman who was carrying around her toy poodle.

“Yep! What can I help you with?” his customer service voice was in full effect, and every time he uses it he can only imagine the bullying that would follow if Jihoon ever witnessed it for himself.  
The woman stormed up to the register and threw down a box of dog biscuits.

“I need this box size, this brand, but all Duck flavored. And I know they exist because I’ve bought them before.”

Soonyoung bit his tongue and already knew where this exchange was going to go, so instead of arguing with the customer he excused himself and ran to find his manager.

“The dog biscuit lady is back asking about duck flavored treats this time.” His manager, the sweetest woman to ever walk this earth, slammed down the box she was carrying and wiped her forehead.

“This is the fourth time she has been here in three days. I am starting to believe that she finds this fun or that someone is doing a horrible job at babysitting grandma.” 

When his shift ended, he walked to his usual place where he meets up with Jihoon. The parking lot to McDonald’s was busier than usual, probably due to the fact that it was dinner time, and Soonyoung groaned at the thought of having to wait in line for more than two minutes. 

He saw Jihoon at their usual spot in the corner and he slipped into the seat across from him. 

"How was work?" Jihoon greeted him with.

"Shitty. Biscuit lady came in again. Apparently it's her fourth time there in the last few days." Soonyoung said, slumped over on the table.

"I'm starting to think that she eats them herself, there is no way that her tiny hamster dog can make enough room for that many biscuits so frequently." Jihoon spoke with a mouth full of food, he pushed Soonyoung's food his way.

“Also, since we're on the topic of annoying people, you do know that getting your license sometime in the near future won’t kill you, right?” Jihoon dipped a fry into his ketchup and looked up at Soonyoung to catch his response, “And neither will buying your own food for once.”

“Jihoon, I can’t just go out and get my license. That would be like, going against gay culture! And I would never do that.” Soonyoung takes a bite of his Big Mac and Jihoon sighs at the response that he’s heard one too many times. 

“It’s not going against ‘gay culture’. It’ll save me gas money and give you the chance to do something without me having to bring you there and pick you up like I’m your damn parent.” Soonyoung rolled his eyes and dug into the rest of his food. 

“Now why would I want to do that? I love having you drive me around. It’s like you're my chauffeur.” 

“Call me your chauffeur one more time and see what happens, Kwon Soonyoung.” 

Their drive home was quieter than usual. Now that Soonyoung has taken a liking in someone for the first time in five years, he does see what Jihoon meant when he said that he should have the chance to do something without Jihoon having to drive him there and pick him up. He starts to think about getting his license, then he starts thinking about parallel parking, then he starts thinking about how an Uber driver would probably be a lot nicer than Jihoon and maybe even get him to work on time every now and then. 

They’re pulling into their driveway when Soonyoung’s phone starts ringing in his lap. He takes a look at the caller ID and nearly gives Jihoon a heart attack when he reads it.

“Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck.” Soonyoung jumps out of the car and he can hear Jihoon asking him what he’s freaking out about.

“Jun is calling me! What do I do?” Soonyoung is leaning against Jihoon’s door with his hand gripping his phone—knuckles practically white from doing so. 

“You answer it.” Jihoon slammed the car door and brushed past Soonyoung to get to the front door. Soonyoung took a few deep breaths and pressed the green icon with a phone on it.

“Hello?”

“Hey! What’s up?” 

“Nothing really. I just got out of work.” Soonyoung follows Jihoon into their apartment and sits down on the couch.

“Oh, that’s good! Where do you work?”

Soonyoung’s head shot up at the question and he considered lying for a second, but decided against it.

“Uh... , it’s pretty lame. Like, it’s not as cool as your job.” Jun laughed on the other end and reassured Soonyoung by telling him that, ‘he’s extremely lucky to be working with animals all day because that’s a dream-come-true to all animal lovers out there’. 

“So anyways, I’m going out drinking with a few friends this Friday and I was wondering if you’d like to meet up with us, perhaps?” 

“O-oh! Yeah, I’d love that! Text me the details when you get the chance.” 

“Got it! Hey, I gotta go now but I’ll text you later, alright?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you later.”

The second Soonyoung took his phone away from his ear he turned to Jihoon and told him to cancel his plans for Friday because he’s in need of a DD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there too much dialogue? Any tips for writing dialogue (or anything else??) let me know!!


	4. A Burning Hill

Friday finally rolls around after a long week of Jun and Soonyoug only communicating via text message. While Soonyoung is tearing his closet apart trying to find a shirt that doesn't have a stain or a cheesy slogan on it, Jihoon is spread across his bed playing some game on his phone.

“Jihoon!” Soonyoung turns to the man on his bed and throws a shirt at him.

“Why did you feel the need to do that.”

“Because I need help finding an outfit. And to think I used to find it acceptable to wear shit like this out in public.” Soonyoung holds up a t-shirt to his chest that reads, ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’.

“If you wore that shirt tonight I bet Jun would be all over you.”

“One, I hope you know that I bought this shirt ironically. Two, die.” Soonyoung threw the shirt back into his closet and collapsed on the bed next to Jihoon with an exasperated sigh. Jihoon sat up eyed the shirt Soonyoung had on at the moment.

“What’s wrong with the one you got on now?” Jihoon asks. Soonyoung sits up on his elbows and squints at him.

“You want to know what’s wrong with this shirt, Jihoon? Do you really? It has lizard piss and dirty fish water on it. That’s what’s wrong with it.”

“Then why the hell are you still wearing it?” Soonyoung rolled his eyes at the other and took his shirt off.

“Just go shower and I’ll find something for you. Stop stressing out over it.”

Soonyoung inspected his backside in the mirror. “I don’t know if I want to wear these pants. I feel like they make my ass look big.” Jihoon picked out some black jeans and one of his own button up shirts so Soonyoung couldn’t turn his nose up at it.

“That’s the point. If you don’t have a bodacious bottom to make up for what you’re lacking in other areas then how on earth are you supposed to catch Jun’s attention?” Jihoon’s sarcastic remark caused Soonyoung to hip check him. 

"Trust me, you look fine. Jun will love it." 

"I don't even know if he likes me like that." Soonyoung huffed while rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Well, he did invite you out for drinks. I'd say that means something." 

The two make it to the address that Jun sent to Soonyoung and they decide to sit at the bar and order their (Soonyoung’s) drinks while waiting for the others.

“Thanks again for taking me. You know you didn’t have to.” Soonyoung mutters bashfully over the rim of his glass. Jihoon gives him a side eye look and takes a sip from his water.

“It’s not that I felt obligated to, but I definitely felt obligated to. Also, you can’t drive.”

Soonyoung laughs, “I feel like me not being able to drive is a personality trait at this point, and the fact that you constantly shit on it is kind of toxic.” 

“I’d agree, but I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.” The voice that chimed in over Soonyoung’s back belonged to the owner of the hand that appeared on his shoulder.

Jun.

“Jun! This is my roommate-slash-friend-slash-chauffeur, Jihoon.” 

Jihoon sat up and nodded at Jun while sticking his hand out. Soonyoung’s eyes met with the two that Junhui brought with him: a tall and slim man with delicate features, yet the sharpest nose to add contrast, and a meat head that Soonyoung (unfortunately) knew all too well.

“Seungcheol?” That name grabbed the attention of Jihoon and they both looked at the man in disbelief.

“Uh, what’s up?” 

Seungcheol, Jihoon and Soonyoung’s ex-couch surfer who was with them for two years, then disappeared without a word.

“I’d bombard you with a shit ton of questions as a reasonable roommate would, but I don’t even know where to start!” Jihoon jumped off his stool and hugged him.

“He might not, but I sure as hell do. Where did you go?!” Soonyoung yelled at Seungcheol half-jokingly. Seungcheol’s sheepish look was enough for Soonyoung to drop it and turn back to his drink.

Jun clears his throat then puts his arm around Wonwoo. 

“And this”, Jun gestures to the other man, “is my boyfriend, Wonwoo.” 

Soonyoung set his drink down and turned back to Jun. “Your ‘who’-woo?” He asked, which earned a nervous laugh from the two in question. “My boyfriend. We’ve been together for about 3 years now?” Jun announces confidently, he looked to Wonwoo for a confirmation. Soonyoung turned back around in his stool and downed the rest of his drink.

The night didn’t start out as planned, and towards the end, Soonyoung was just exhausted. He checked his phone and realized that it was pretty late. “We should get going.” Soonyoung nudged Jihoon who was mid conversation with Seungcheol. “What? Why.”

“Because I’m bored.”

“You’re only bored because you know you don’t have a chance with Jun anymore.” Jihoon snapped at Soonyoung without looking at him. “Well it’s not my fault me led me to think I had one in the first place!” he whisper-yelled to Jihoon who completely ignored him. Soonyoung sat back into the booth and continued to pout like the child he was being, and observed the situation at hand. 

Jun: Drink in one hand, Wonwoo in the other. Listening to Wonwoo speak, but eyeing up some people across the room.

Wonwoo: Stiff as a board, back to Soonyoung but completely convinced that he has his boyfriend’s undivided attention.

Jihoon: Slowly slipping into old habits.

Seungcheol: Giving Jihoon a reason to slip.

Soonyoung kicked off his shoes the second he stepped through the door and Jihoon followed behind him.

“Are you really that upset over this?” Jihoon’s voice traveled down the hall as Soonyoung was ripping his obnoxiously tight pants off. “Yeah, I am. Alright, Jihoon? I fucking am. I was upset and I wanted to leave, but you were too busy having eye sex with your long-lost pal.” He saw Jihoon’s silhouette behind him in his doorway and continued undressing.

“I am sorry, but I wasn’t about to let him run away again.” Jihoon sighed and leaned against the doorway, “and what the fuck was that back there?” 

“What do you mean? With Jun and his boyfriend?” 

“Yes, that. So, what did he expect you to do, play it cool and act as though he wasn’t just talking you up a few hours prior?” Jihoon questioned.

“I don’t know what I expected, but meeting his boyfriend was not it!” 

“Well if he’s leading you on to the point where you think you have a chance with him, then maybe you’re not the first.” 

Soonyoung’s eyes shot up to Jihoon who had a suggestive look on his face. “What are you trying to say?” 

“Well, I mean that if he had the guts to introduce the person he’s talking to, to his boyfriend, then clearly he has experience with it.” Jihoon moved to sit next to Soonyoung on the bed, “Listen, all I’m getting at is that Wonwoo needs to find out, yeah?” Soonyoung sat on the edge of his bed and considered Jihoon’s proposition. Is that something he wants to put Jun through? But yet again, if Soonyoung wasn’t the first person that this happened to then that says a lot about Junhui and the role that he plays in his relationship with Wonwoo. Was Jun even flirting with him in the first place or was it Soonyoung’s overactive and completely desperate imagination that created a false perception of what the situation actually was? Either way, Jun has had practice. Now it’s all about figuring out why he had the confidence to introduce the two without fearing that Soonyoung would confront him.

He sighed and collapsed onto his bed. Soonyoung blew the fringe off his forehead and gave Jihoon a lazy look. “Can we talk about this in the morning? I just want to sleep and force his stupid face out of my brain forever.” 

Jihoon smirked and backed away from Soonyoung’s door. “Sure, night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! I am working on formatting currently and still trying to get the hang of it so sorry for the mess!


	5. Strawberry Blond

That next morning Soonyoung pretends to not remember what happened last night in hopes of cheating his way into the ‘ignorance is bliss’ card. But, of course, Jihoon’s favorite hobby aside from bullying Soonyoung is confronting him.

Jihoon greeted Soonyoung at the kitchen table with a nod and started to mumble over a mouth full of cereal, “Are you ready to discuss the plan?” Soonyoung rubbed his eyes and groaned as he dropped his head into his hands. “Do we have to do this now? Can’t I just ghost him and pretend that it never happened?” 

“And let him lead someone else on? And continue doing what he’s doing to Wonwoo?” Jihoon’s tone made it clear to Soonyoung that he needed to take the situation more seriously, but with the embarrassment and disappointment that has fallen over him in the last twelve hours he’s not sure if it is even worth the fight at this point. “Soonyoung, I won’t force you to do anything, but just think about what’s going to feel better on your conscience later on in life.” 

Soonyoung got up from the table and took a deep breath. “I’ll figure it out. Can we drop it?” 

“You either need to find Wonwoo and tell him or text Jun and confront him.” Jihoon’s final words were sharp, but to the point. Little did he know that Soonyoung had already deleted Jun’s number. Soonyoung’s head was spinning in circles, not only due to the fact that he had a gnarly hangover, but also because he has to tell Wonwoo that his boyfriend of three years is a two-timing pig. 

Soonyoung grabbed his blanket off the back of the couch and started shuffling back into his room. “I’m in a mood now.” He called to Jihoon. With his bedroom door shut and the curtains continuing to stay closed, he decided that he was going back to plan A until the feigned ignorance was no longer blissful.

Jihoon passed by his door and offered a not so reassuring, “You can’t avoid it forever.”

Bet.

Jihoon’s birthday was coming up‒the big two-three, or is it two-four? Soonyoung was standing in front of the birthday candles in the grocery store and decided that the number two and three candles were necessary, but chose to throw in a number one as a make-shift slash mark and the number four just in case Soonyoung’s a bad roommate and cannot remember his best friend’s age. 

“Did you get everything you need?” Seokmin asked when the two met up at the front of the store. “Yeah, I think so. Now I just need to find a gift.” Soonyoung said while handing his items to the cashier. The problem with Jihoon is that one does not simply get him a single gift‒you have to get multiple, then he will let you know that he hates them all. Luckily, Soonyoung has figured out a method to his madness; the ones that cause Jihoon to say, “I hate it” without a pause means that he loves it, and the ones that require a few seconds to soak in are usually an honest “I hate it”. 

Seokmin and Soonyoung threw their groceries into Seokmin’s car and made their way to the mall. “What were you thinking of getting him?” Seokmin glanced over to Soonyoung who was daydreaming out the window. He sighed and rested his head against the glass. “I don’t even know, I’m sick of feeling like a bad friend for not knowing what he wants.” 

“Didn’t he just download that new editing program? You can get him a book on it,” Seokmin pitched. Soonyoung considered it deeply and decided that it was a good idea, though most things related to that program can just be Googled now, he figured that the relation to something that he enjoys doing was good enough. 

“Yeah, that’s actually a really good idea. Thanks, man.” 

“No worries. Did you want to run in the book store real quick then hit the rest of the mall?” 

Soonyoung nodded and looked back out the window. They were on the same road that the piercing parlor was on and there was some part of Soonyoung that was desperately hoping that Jun would be walking through the parking lot or even pulling out. Just something to see him again, Soonyoung subconsciously thought. 

“Do you remember Jun?” Soonyoung looked over to Seokmin, waiting for a response. 

“Yes, I remember him. You act like you weren’t about to hop on his dick less than two months ago.” 

Soonyoung Snorted at that response and continued, “What do you think it would be like if he was single, like, if we actually got together?” 

“I feel like we wouldn’t be hanging out right now. You are clingy, Soonyoung. And he can drive.” Soonyoung chuckled as they passed by the parlor. “True. I don’t know, I just miss him.”

“But he was scummy.”

“I know he was, but he was so sweet. I just wish it went differently.” 

“Well what about that boyfriend he had, what was his name?” Seokmin glances at Soonyoung, waiting for the gears in his head to start turning. 

Soonyoung made a confused face as he pretended to try and recall his name. “Wonwoo? I think. What about him?” Seokmin looked over at him and rolled his eyes. “I find it pathetic that you had to pretend that you forgot his name.” 

“Whatever. What were you going to say?”

Seokmin smirked towards the road as he uttered the words that Soonyoung was not looking forward to, yet completely expected, “You should get with him.” 

“Do you care about my sanity, Seokmin? Just asking for a friend.” 

The mall was packed; Seokmin and Soonyoung considered coming back later in the day but Soonyoung complained that once he’s in his pajamas for the night he does not plan on leaving the apartment again. 

They first hit the bookstore, which was inevitably busy, and the two weren’t able to find any editing-related books for Jihoon. Empty handed, they started walking towards the mall entrance when Soonyoung spotted one of the two faces that has been plaguing his mind for the last couple of months.

“Seokmin, I’ll meet you in the food court.” He called to his friend who waved over his shoulder. Soonyoung approached the small café that was located in the bookstore and waited for the man to look up from his book that he was indulged in. 

He finally looked up. “Soonyoung, right?” Soonyoung approached the table and offered a friendly, yet cautious smile.

“Hey, Wonwoo! How’ve you been?” Soonyoung figured this was a good time to sit in the empty seat across from him. Wonwoo gave Soonyoung a gentle smile as he placed a bookmark in his book and slipped it into his laptop bag. Wonwoo looked different, Soonyoung thought. His strawberry blond hair was now dark brown, almost black, and his overall aura doesn’t seem as lively as it was when they first met.

“I’m hanging in there, you know? How have you been?” Wonwoo sat up in his chair and Soonyoung could feel him looking over his face. His features looked as though they were chiseled by the Gods but the softness of his gaze was as if the Angels has blessed it with their delicate kisses. His light-as-a-feather eyes dusted away at Soonyoung’s secrets and all he wanted to do in that exact moment was to expose Jun. 

So he did.

“Your boyfriend is cheating on you.” He blurted out, the statement filled with anxiety, yet the smallest hint of confidence. Wonwoo closed his eyes slowly and a defeated grin appeared on his face. “I’m aware,” Wonwoo said softly. 

“What?”

“We broke up about two weeks after we all met at the bar.” 

Soonyoung broke his eye contact and looked down at his hands that he was wringing on the table. Well, as shitty as it was to say, Soonyoung was extremely glad to hear that news. “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

As Wonwoo corrected his posture, he cleared his throat. “He wanted to meet new people,” he paused briefly then continued, “even though he was already doing that. I think you ghosting him caused him to reevaluate the situation and finally break it off.” 

Soonyoung sat back in his chair and he felt his stomach drop. “Wonwoo, I am so-“ Soonyoung started, but was cut off. “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know. If anything, it’s mine for knowing all along.” Wonwoo took a sip of his coffee and laughed to himself. “The dumbest part was that I wasted an entire year of my life completely aware of what he was doing.” 

Choking up at this wasn’t part of his agenda, but Soonyoung did anyway. He tried to quickly blink away the tears that were threatening to spill out, but it was too late. Wonwoo reached across the table and cuffed Soonyoung’s shoulder. “It’s nothing to cry over, Soonyoung. We barely know each other.”

“That’s not the point, it’s the fact that you had to go through that.”

“Sometimes it’s just more convenient to stay rather than leave.” 

Wonwoo was healing. He spent the last year of his life putting himself through something that he didn’t deserve, that no one deserves. It’s a situation that leaves you feeling like you’re the crazy one for staying, for playing along. The pain endured throughout that period is something you can’t get over, it’s a wound that time cannot heal and it leaves you with something that you must carry around for the rest of your life.

“I really didn’t know, Wonwoo. I am so sorry.” 

“You helped. I think you made him realize that the pain he was trying to mask by hooking up with new people wasn’t disappearing when he did so, it was just tossed onto me.” 

“I don’t even know what to say.” Soonyoung mumbled. He continued to nervously play with his hands while his mind tried to formulate a coherent question to ask. “Are you okay now?” 

Good one.

The brunette across the table smiled and gave Soonyoung a small nod. “I’m working on it. Definitely feels as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders but there’s just a lot to work through.” Soonyoung returned Wonwoo’s small smile and offered him a sweet “I’m glad.” 

“Anyways though, enough about me! What are you up to?” Wonwoo regained his posture and plastered a warm grin on his face as he sipped more of his coffee. “I’m trying to find a book for my roommate’s birthday. Do you remember Jihoon?” 

“Vaguely.”

“Short, little guy. Feisty as can be.” Wonwoo laughed and nodded his head as though Soonyoung sparked his memory. “But, yeah. My friend and I are shopping for him right now. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to him.” 

“Oh, yeah! Don’t let me keep you.” Wonwoo started to take his book back out as Soonyoung got up. “It was really nice seeing you, Wonwoo.” Soonyoung hummed with the utmost sincerity as possible.

“Yeah, same with you. Good luck shopping.” 

“Thanks, you too.” 

“Thanks, you too.” Soonyoung mimicked to himself as he walked away before the blush that was taking over his face became more apparent . He was halfway out the door of the bookstore when he realized something so utterly stupid. Wonwoo was the most beautiful person he has ever seen and he needs to come up with a quick excuse to get his number before it’s too late. 

He spun on his heel and marched right back over to the cafe. Wonwoo was still in the same seat, same position, book in hand. Soonyoung went up and slid back into the chair that he completely forgot to push in.

“Could I have your number? Just in case I have any book-related questions in which you would probably be able to answer?” Soonyoung’s abruptness pulled a hearty laugh from Wonwoo’s chest and he nodded as he pulled his phone out. 

The two exchanged numbers and Soonyoung reminded him that it was for ‘serious literary-inquiries only’. 

“Jihoon I have a problem and you’re going to kill me.” Soonyoung announced as he walked through the apartment door. Seokmin had just dropped him off after their trip to the mall and just as Soonyoung, he was also out of luck when it came to finding a gift for Jihoon. 

Jihoon appeared in the living room from the kitchen and plopped onto the couch with a bowl of cereal. “I want to kill you anyway,” he said nonchalantly. Soonyoung kicked his shoes off next to the couch and collapsed onto it next to Jihoon.

Soonyoung furthered himself into the couch until he was squished between two of the cushions. “How can you tell when you’re in love?” He sighed contently. Jihoon slammed his cereal down onto the coffee table and turned to Soonyoung. “Not again.” He threatened sternly. Soonyoung smiled like the child he was and started to laugh. 

“I’m only half-joking,” He started. He knows that the second Jihoon finds out who his new lover is all hell will break loose, but Soonyoung loves to push Jihoon’s buttons, and pushing he shall do.

“Did you know that Jun and Wonwoo broke up?” Soonyoung taunted. Jihoon’s glare and pursed lips were enough to let Soonyoung know that this was just the beginning. “Well, you wouldn’t believe who I ran into today.” 

Jihoon started to shake his head and he got up from the couch. “So fucking help me god, if you say what I think you’re about to say.” Soonyoung giggled and pulled himself to his feet as well. 

“I won’t tell you who I ran into today, but I just want you to know that I’ll be smart about this one.” 

With that, he went into his room for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... here you go! I’m trying to get back into writing so this piece is more experimental than anything! Hope you all enjoyed it

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this written for almost three years now and I have finally mustered up the courage to post it! More to come soon!  
> (If you remember me, yes I did delete all of my works off of here in 2017 for no reason at all. I will be editing them and re-posting soon!!)


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